Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants to win 125-pound title after beating Claudia Gadelha
One championship just isn't enough for Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
The reigning queen in the strawweight division is looking to beat Claudia Gadelha next weekend at "The Ultimate Fighter" Finale and then she has her sights set on a second UFC title at 125 pounds.
Jedrzejczyk told FOX Sports on Wednesday during a media conference call that she expects to beat Gadelha for the second time and put an end to their rivalry before moving on to another championship in the UFC.
"I respect her as a fighter, as my opponent," Jedrzejczyk said. "I said after our first fight that Claudia was still the No. 1 for me cause at that time, I knew I was going to become the champ very soon.
"I think it's going to be the last fight between me and Claudia Gadelha because I have plans to move to the different weight class, to 125, if there will be an option to fight for a title next. We'll see. I'm focused on this fight. I'm going to make sure I'm going to win this fight."
Jedrzejczyk had a spotty connection during the call so when she was asked again about her intention to move to a new division to tackle a new title, the Polish champion doubled down on her desire to move to 125 pounds after the fight with Gadelha.
The UFC just recently held a special-attraction bout at 125 pounds as Joanne Calderwood landed a vicious TKO over former title contender Valerie Letourneau in Canada.
As of now, the UFC hasn't made any decisions about adding a new women's division, but Jedrzejczyk believes it would be advantageous to make another weight class where the best female fighters in the world could compete.
"I predict that so I know it's going to happen. That's all," Jedrzejczyk said. "It was a good fight between Valerie and Jojo, first catch weight at 125.
"I think we need that division. So many girls from bantamweight can go down, so many girls from strawweight division can go up so the UFC should make the next division a female division."
The bout between Calderwood and Letourneau was certainly one of the most talked about fights on the card that night, and now it looks like the top strawweight in the world is interested in a flyweight division as well.
With more and more women's fighters expressing interest in a 125-pound division, the UFC may very well consider the move at some point in the future.
For now, Jedrzejczyk will look for her third title defense at strawweight when she faces Gadelha in the main event of "The Ultimate Fighter" finale July 8 live on FS1.
